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Monday, September 24, 2012

Catch this!

Joe Cleveland sat in the Dawg Pound on Sunday and listened as Buffalo Bills fans made our Stadium sound like theirs in Orchard Park, N.Y.

It was embarassing, and if the players are hurt by that, so be it. It is on them to change the culture around here, and the only way they do that is by winning football games, especially at home.

It's kind of hard to cheer when your team gives up two quick first quarter touchdowns and then has to play from behind the rest of the game.

The Browns had to play from behind last week in Cincinnati and also had to play from behind in Week 1 against Philadelphia. Thanks to an opportunistic defense and an all-around poor game from Michael Vick, the Browns actually had the fourth quarter lead, but couldn't hold on.

One common denomonator for all three of these games is the wide receivers' inability to do the one fundemental thing that makes them receivers -- CATCH THE FOOTBALL!

If it seems like the Browns always seem to have the market cornered on receivers who do everything well except secure the football with their hands when it is thrown in their direction, you wouldn't be too far off.

You can see a Greg Little and raise him a Braylon Edwards.

You can see a Josh Gordon and raise him a Quincy Morgan.

And on and on and on.

Heck, ever since the Browns let Reggie Langhorne, Webster Slaughter and Brian Brennan leave the team as free agents in one fell swoop following the 1991 season, the team has collectively struggled to catch the football.

When the original Browns moved to Baltimore (who, coincidentally, the current Browns will be seeing Thursday night in Crabcake-ville) and the Browns were reborn three years later, the dropsies only seemed to get worse and magnified with each regime in charge.

Because the best way to deal with frustration is by simply poking fun at the problem, Joe Cleveland has decided to rank the Top 13 Worst Wide Receivers the Browns have had. Drops and attitude are the two biggest factors in this list, and the Browns have been rife with receivers with plenty of both. Draft position and starts were also considered.

I did not factor tight ends into this equation, or else Kellen Winslow, Rickey Dudley, O.J. Santiago, Irv Smith and Mark Campbell would certainly crack this list. I just stuck with wide receivers -- the list was bad enough.

1. Braylon Edwards: 4.5 seasons (2005-09), 238 catches, 3,697 yards, 28 touchdowns, 1 Pro Bowl -- With his numbers, you would think that a guy like Edwards, the third-overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, would be lower on this list, if not completely off it. However, Edwards was not only a notorious pass-dropper, his attitude was probably one of the worst a Browns player has ever had (and there have been plenty of divas). He was not happy to be here, and from Day 1, he made no secret about that. He carried himself with an undeserved sense of entitlement from the get-go, never blamed himself for his or his teams problems, got into visable altercations with his quarterbacks on the sidelines, undermined the coaches he played for, only seemed to play well on games that were nationally televised, took plays off, unintentionally spiked a teammate when he raced him during training camp while that receiver had stocking feet, and was out with that same receiver on the night that player drove drunk and struck a pedestrian, killing him (then, proving lessons aren't learned, was arrested for a DUI less than a year later). He ripped on Cleveland fans both before and after he was traded midway through the 2009 season. His 2007 Pro Bowl season proved to be an abberation. His attitude was too much for even the acerbic, trash-talking New York Jets and they let him leave as a free agent. Since then, he's had forgettable seasons in San Francisco and (currently) Seattle. Browns fans will never forget Braylon Edwards, and he will be booed every time he plays in Cleveland for the rest of his career.

2. Donte Stallworth: 2 seasons (2008-09), 17 catches, 170 yards, 2 touchdowns -- Stallworth was the 13th overall selection by New Orleans back in 2002, but he was essentially a journeyman receiver who was coming off a decent season in New England with the Browns invested in him as a free agent. He was the receiver who decided to race Edwards while Edwards was wearing cleats and he was in his socks and had to miss a few games with a wound to his heel. When he returned, he didn't do very much very well and was largely a forgettable free agent bust in 2008. But, during the offseason in 2009, Stallworth left a party thrown by his buddy Edwards drunk, drove home, and struck and killed a pedestrian who was crossing the street. Stallworth was suspended without pay by the NFL in 2009, and the Browns quietly released him following that season. He is currently out of football after bouncing around for a few teams. Stallworth was supposed to be a signing that put a 10-6 Browns team over the top. Instead, it sunk them.

3. Andre Rison, 1 season (1995), 47 catches, 701 yards, 3 touchdowns -- I thought about ranking Rison higher on this list, but at least he didn't kill anyone. Rison was the Dead Judas' final act in Cleveland -- a marquee free agent signing following a Pro Bowl season in Atlanta who was going to be the team's missing piece in a run to the Super Bowl. Of course, we all know Judas had to borrow from at least two banks to pay Rison's $5 million signing bonus (which only added to his impending bankruptcy and his choice to move the team). Rison talked a big game and acted like he was too big for Cleveland, which didn't sit well with the blue-collar fanbase. Rison liked to preen and pose, but dropped a few passes, didn't block for his other receivers or runners and didn't mesh well with his quarterback, Vinny Testaverde, or his buttoned-up head coach, Bill Belichick. When the team announced they were moving, Rison added fuel to the fire when he said he "couldn't want to play in Baltimore" and ripped the Browns fans who booed the team during the team's final few games. Almost fittingly, Rison was the first player the newly-christened Ravens released upon the move being granted. He did rebound to catch a touchdown pass in the Super Bowl the very next season and immediately followed that up with a Pro Bowl season in Kansas City in 1997. But, those proved to be fleeting moments. He retired in 2000, never playing a game in Cleveland again.

4. Quincy Morgan, 3.5 seasons (2001-04), 133 catches, 2,056 yards, 15 touchdowns -- Morgan was the poster-child for Browns receivers who couldn't catch a cold if they were standing naked in Siberia. He was drafted 33rd overall with a high second-round pick by incoming head coach Butch Davis, and Morgan displayed some big-play ability whenever he decided to hang on to the ball. He led the NFL with a 17.2-yard-per-catch average in 2002, the last year the Browns made the playoffs. But, his preening after a questionable fourth-down reception late in 2001 gave the replay officials enough to time to request a review of his catch (well, not really enough time, since the Browns got a snap off and ran a first-down play), and the ball just moved enough in his hands for the replay officials to overturn the call, knocking the Browns out of playoff contention and starting a bottle-throwing debacle that is still known throughout the town as "BottleGate." Morgan's attitude and propensity to drop passes finally persuaded Davis to trade him to Dallas for another petulant receiver named Antonio Bryant, and Morgan wasn't shy about telling everyone his true feelings for Cleveland after he left, even though he didn't amount to very much after he left. His claim to fame was catching a garbage-time, rub-it-in touchdown during a Christmas Day 2005 Steelers blowout at Browns Stadium and then taking a kickoff out of the end zone with Denver one season later and getting blasted at the 5 by the Browns special teams, and not playing another down the rest of the day. Morgan only caught two more touchdown passes and played two more seasons after the Browns gave up on him, although he does have a Super Bowl championship ring as a member of the Steelers in 2005.

5. Derrick Alexander, 2 seasons (1994-95), 63 catches, 1,044 yards, 2 touchdowns -- Alexander was the Browns' second first-round draft choice (29th overall) in 1994 and was expected to immediately be the starter opposite Michael Jackson, who was having a fine career after being taken in the sixth round back in 1991. Alexander held out and then had trouble grasping the offense in 1994, although the Browns went 11-5, qualified for the playoffs and won a playoff game (the last time they did that in franchise history). During the Browns' 29-9 divisional round loss to the Steelers, Alexander was whistled for a back-breaking unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after he caught a first down pass and flung it at the Steeler guarding him, and then didn't catch another pass the rest of the day. Alexander battled injuries and a loss of playing time to big free-agent signing Andre Rison in 1995, making the rest of his Browns tenure very forgettable (15 catches, 215 yards, 0 touchdowns). He rebounded with some standout seasons for the pass-happy Ravens (1996-97) and the Kansas City Chiefs (1998-2000) and was reunited with Rison in 2000 for his best season (78 catches, 10 touchdowns). But, that's where the saga ends, and retired as a Minnesota Viking in 2002. Like Braylon, Alexander was from the University of Michigan, which puts two former Wolverines in the top five.

6. Greg Little, 1.5 seasons (2011-12), 68 catches, 783 yards, 3 touchdowns -- Little will always be stacked up against Atlanta's Julio Jones, fair or not. The Browns traded the sixth overall pick to the Falcons, who took Jones, while the Browns received two first rounders, a second and a fourth in 2012. That second-rounder was Little, who hadn't played the previous season due to losing his NCAA eligibility. Little was second among rookies with 61 catches last season, but led the NFL with 15 drops. That hasn't changed during his sophomore season. He dropped a potential touchdown pass in the season opener that wound up becoming the first of four interceptions thrown by rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden. Little redeemed himself with a good game against the Bengals, but drew fans ire with his excessive celebrations following the touchdown (which only cut Cincinnati's lead to 10 points) and for his Tweets afterward, in which he criticized fans who ripped him saying he doesn't care what they think. He then proceeded to drop several more balls during Sunday's game, made the overexaggerated Usain Bolt pose following his lone catch (a first down) and was yelled at on the sidelines by head coach Pat Shurmur and position coach Mike Wilson. Little has since said he wouldn't celebrate as much and would concentrate on catching the ball. However, it may be too late. Browns fans may have seen the next Braylon.

7. Darren Chiaverini, 2 seasons (1999-2000), 52 catches, 555 yards, 5 touchdowns -- Chiaverini was selected in the fifth round in the Browns' inaugural rookie draft. Not much was expected of him, but he wound up starting eight games as a rookie opposite fellow rookie Kevin Johnson and caught 44 passes with four touchdowns. He crashed back to Earth as a second-year player, starting only two games and only catching eight passes with a touchdown, and was sent packing by incoming head coach Butch Davis. Chiaverini caught 10 passes and two touchdowns as a Cowboys reserve the next season, but was out of football after a catchless season as a Falcon in 2002. He had no business being in the NFL, let alone starting for an NFL team.

8. Travis Wilson, 2 seasons (2006-07), 2 catches, 32 yards, 0 touchdowns -- Wilson, who was a third-round selection by then-GM Phil Savage in 2006, immediately put the target on him when he proclaimed that he was the best wide receiver in the entire draft class in his introductary press conference. He then had an ill-advised holdout and wound up only playing four games as a rookie (with one start), with those two catches. Wilson was deactivated for every single game his second year and was quietly released the following year, never playing in the NFL again. As far as his proclimations as the "best receiver in the draft," Santonio Holmes (first round) and Greg Jennings (second round) might take issue with that statement.

9. Brian Robiskie, 2.5 seasons (2009-11), 39 catches, 441 yards, 3 touchdowns -- Incoming head coach Eric Mangini acquired three second-round picks for his first (and only) draft, and proceeded to squander all three. The first one of those three, which was the second pick in the round, was spent on Robiskie, a Chagrin Falls product who had a productive career at Ohio State and is the son of a former NFL receiver and receivers coach, Terry Robiskie. Instead of showing everyone that he was the "most pro-ready receiver in the draft," Robiskie quickly became an afterthought. He only caught seven passes for 106 yards as a rookie, where he only played in 11 games and started one. He did better his second year, starting 11 games and catching 29 balls with three touchdowns. But it wasn't nearly good enough to show that he was worthy of being the 36th overall selection. After just three catches as a Brown in six games (two starts) last season, he was waived. He was claimed by Jacksonville but didn't catch a pass in six games and is currently out of football.

10. Andre Davis, 3 seasons (2002-04), 93 catches, 1,414 yards, 13 touchdowns -- Davis makes this list mostly because he could never stay 100 percent healthy during his brief stint with the Browns after he became the fourth-straight receiver selected in the second round by the team (joining Kevin Johnson, Morgan and Dennis Northcutt). Also, he wound up making his mark as a kickoff and punt returner and not as a receiver for the remainder of his career. A second-round receiver should be more than a good career kickoff guy. He was on the receiving end of the longest touchdown in Browns history -- a 99-yard pass from Jeff Garcia in a win over the Cincinnati Bengals in 2004. However, he was injured shortly after the play and wound up missing most of the rest of that season, only finishing with 16 catches. He caught 37 and 40 balls his first two years, but never caught more than 33 over the remainder of his career, which ended in 2009 as a member of the Houston Texans. He did have four kickoff return touchdowns (three with the Texans in 2007) in his career.

11. Patrick Rowe, 2 seasons (1992-93), 3 catches, 37 yards, 0 touchdowns -- Rowe was a second-round draft choice by Bill Belichick before he became a "genius." Belichick believed Rowe, who starred at San Diego State, would help the team overcome the losses of Webster Slaughter, Brian Brennan and Reggie Langhorne. He was WAAAYYY wrong. Rowe was lost for the season in his first training camp with a knee injury, and when he returned in 1993, he could barely get on the field. He only played in five games before he was released. Rowe never played another down in the NFL. Nice drafting, Genius!

12. Antonio Bryant, 1.5 seasons (2004-05), 111 catches, 1,555 yards, 8 touchdowns -- Bryant came into the NFL with a reputation of having a bad attitude, and that attitude festered in Dallas. After an incident where Bryant threw a towel in the direction of either head coach Bill Parcells or owner Jerry Jones, his days were numbered. He was sent to Cleveland at the trading deadline in 2004 for butterfingers Quincy Morgan. Bryant did well upon the trade, catching 42 passes and 4 touchdowns during his 10 games in a Browns uniform, and much was expected of him in 2005 when he'd be teamed with incoming rookie Braylon Edwards, free agent signing Joe Jurevicius and second-year tight end Kellen Winslow. But, Winslow injured his knee in a motorcycle accident, Edwards underachieved as a rookie and Bryant was counted on to be the No. 1 receiver. He caught 69 passes for over 1,000 yards, but he still dropped a few passes and his attitude was never that much better. He left after the season as a free agent, spending the next three seasons in San Francisco and Tampa Bay before retiring in 2009 at the age of 28.

13. Lawyer Tillman, 5 seasons (1989-93), 36 catches, 636 yards, 3 touchdowns -- The Browns braintrust, led by Ernie Accorsi, was so enthralled with the 6-foot-5 Auburn product that they traded Herman Fontenot and next year's first round choice for the right to take Tillman in the second round in 1989. Tillman responded with a lengthy holdout, spending more time in the training room and on the operating table than on the football field and not performing very well whenever he was healthy and playing. He only played three of the five seasons he was with the Browns, missing two full seasons due to injury. His best season was his comeback season in 1992, when he caught 25 passes for 498 yards, but by then, he had been moved to tight end. He played five more NFL games with expansion Carolina in 1995 before retiring for good, going down in history as one of the Browns' most colossal draft busts of all time.

Honorable Mention: Rico Smith (1992-95), Dennis Northcutt (2000-06), Leslie Shepherd (1999), Carlton Mitchell (2010-11), Michael Bates (1995), Frisman Jackson (2002-05), Mohammed Massaquoi (2009-12), Zola Davis (1999), Kevin Johnson (1999-2003), Josh Gordon (2012).

Paul Warfield would be ashamed of that list. This is why the Browns have struggled to have any semblance of a passing offense since they've returned. Sure, the revolving door at quarterback hasn't helped, but if a receiver could stay healthy, shut his trap and catch the ball when it's thrown in his direction, perhaps one of those QBs stays a bit longer.

Hopefully, one of the guys on the current team can blossom into a reliable receiving threat to help out Brandon Weeden, Colt McCoy or whoever the next QB of the Browns winds up being (hopefully not Matt Barkley).

Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!

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